It is common to use common “traffic”-type cones in a playground or gym class situation for game and physical education purposes. The inventor of the present invention has devised a variety of products in the past that expand the uses for cones in these environments. He has patented several inventions with U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,799 (Telescoping Hurdle With Base Adapter) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,777 (Base for Game Standard). Cones can support a variety of other activities, too, because they are durable, inexpensive and versatile.
At the same time, there is a need to mount common playground hoops in a variety of configurations for games and physical education. People skilled with gym equipment and sporting goods are familiar with playground hoops and their uses for recreational and physical education purposes. These hoops can also be placed on the ground in various positions to facilitate different playground games. The playground hoops provide circular spaces on the floor, forming the basis for many playground games. But used alone, these hoops may only be used flat on the ground unless someone holds the hoop above the ground in a given position.
The user's hoop-positioning options are limited by the horizontal hoop-orientation; and to have someone hold the hoop can be inconvenient. Additionally, common playground hoops are usually fashioned from hard plastic. Firmly linking hoops and hoop-holding devices is difficult because of hard plastic's low coefficient of friction. Even with small tolerances between the playground hoop and hoop-holding device, the slightest disturbance will move the hoop relative to the hoop-holding device.
Standard commercial playground hoops are made from tubular material having diameters that range from approximately ½″ to 1″. The hoops form circles that have diameters ranging from 20″ to 36″. Achieving a reasonable fit between a hoop-holding device and various playground hoop diameters in the past required the hoop-holding device diameter to be matched with the diameter of the particular hoop being held. Users of playground hoops often include school gym teachers who constantly replace broken or damaged hoops. Finding inexpensive replacement hoops is difficult because one must find the exact hoop diameter of the hoop holder. Purchasing multiple hoop-holding devices for each hoop diameter would allow owners to purchase a greater variety of hoop sizes. But this solution is expensive and impractical, requiring extra money to purchase additional hoop-holding devices, extra time to coordinate appropriately-sized hoops and hoop-holders and extra storage space for housing the equipment.
The present inventor has addressed those needs with patented inventions including U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,777 (Base for Game Standard) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,172,636 (Playground Hoop-Holding Apparatus). Still, there is a need for yet even more improvements to common playground equipment to expand the list of options for games and physical education.